Page 34
Riley opened her mouth, but Ethan’s wide bicep filled her vision. He moved between them, bringing him nose to nose with Nate. Silence fell around the crowd. Every eye that hadn’t been trained on them was now focused on the tension circling the two men.
“Can I help you?” Ethan’s voice was low and menacing, but projected around the room.
Riley inched behind Ethan’s broad back, shielding herself from the shocked glares. Ethan’s arm reached behind him and clamped over her wrist. His thumb moved reassuringly across her knuckles.
Nate scratched his head and gave a rude laugh. “For starters, you can move the hell away from my girl.”
When they’d planned the confrontation, Riley hadn’t given a second thought to the onlookers and the spotlight it would put her under. She closed her eyes and pressed the pads of her fingertips between her brows.
It’s not real, get a grip.
She wasn’t one to give a damn about what people thought. But at the moment, fifty sets of eyes thought she was sleeping around.
Ethan’s back bunched beneath his shirt and Riley sunk lower. God, they weren’t going to fight, were they? That hadn’t been in the notes.
“Your girl?” Ethan’s hand fell away from her and slowly, he turned to face Riley.
If she could have willed the floor to swallow her up, she would have been long gone. His eyes pinned her to the spot and his hands flexed at his sides. The harsh lines of his face deepened. “Is that true?”
Riley swallowed, her heart slammed against her breastbone as she fought for the words she’d recited twenty times. “Technically. We were on a break and—”
Ethan brushed past her, his shoulder nearly knocking her unsteady legs out from under her. The crowd swallowed him up as he shouldered his way through. A knot formed in her stomach. Nate turned to the people who still lingered around, watching as if her life was a damn sitcom.
“All right, nothing to see here. Everyone mind your own business.” Nate barked.
Quickly, people snapped their attention away and the loud drone of voices and music resumed.
He turned back to Riley, pulled her against his side, and moved her to a table. “You did good, hon. Need a drink?”
“Oh god, yes.” She slipped onto the stool and rested her head into her hand. Nate signaled the waitress and put in an order. “No one can hear us, so relax. E’s heading to your place now and you can leave soon.”
She nodded and lifted her eyes to his friendly ones. “Why did it feel so real?”
A small smile touched his lips. “Because Ethan’s in pretty deep with you, that’s why.” He paid the waitress when she dropped his beer and Riley’s glass down in front of them. Riley squirmed in her seat. The urge to question Nate about what that meant clawed at her throat.
“Get your bearings; we still need to have our little spat.”
Riley shifted her gaze over Nate’s shoulder. Jenny leaned against the wall, a drink in hand, and a deep scowl on her face. Riley’s insides cringed. She had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
“Don’t worry, it’s good that your friends think you’re an ass right now. It will only help the story spread faster.”
“They already think I’m a slut.”
He winced. “Why is that?”
She sighed and took a swig from her drink. “Because I tried luring men at bars to find Hanna’s kidnapper.”
Nate grimaced and the skin around his mouth creased. “Ah, well that was an unconventional plan.”
A beat passed and her hands itched to cover her face. Saying her previous actions aloud was enough to make a pit of regret open in her stomach.
Nate lifted his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. People love talking about sluts.”
She blew a breath through her nose. The need to get out of here and into Ethan’s arms made hives ready to break out over her body.
“Let’s just get this over with.” She nudged his knee under the table and took another much needed sip from her drink.
“Tell me you aren’t serious about that guy. I thought we were working on things?” Nate’s voice boomed over the crowd.
Shit. She hadn’t been ready. Fire blazed from her toes to her cheeks. Her hand tightened on her glass. “Of course it’s not serious. I care about you, Damon. But I need some time.” She pressed her fingers into her temple until it hurt. “Can we talk about this later? How long are you in town?”
“A week. I came to see you, babe. To work this shit out.” His thumbnail caught the edge of the label on the beer bottle and he peeled it down.
“Okay, we can talk. But can it wait until tomorrow? I really want to get home.”
He lifted a shoulder. “All right, I can get you a cab if you want.”
She nodded. God, she wanted to get out of here more than anything in the world. She slammed back the remainder of her drink and Nate led her through the bar, his hand on her waist.
Jenny’s tall form stepped into view, her eyes wide as she mouthed, what the hell?
She caught Jenny’s hand as Nate propelled her through the crowd. “I’ll text you when I get home,” she told her.
Jenny shot her a pointed look and dropped Riley’s fingers.
The warm night air forced its way into her lungs as they stepped outside. Nate kept her close to him, and she gripped his arm for support.
At the curb, he pulled out his phone and placed a call for a cab. When he hung up, he turned back to her. “You okay? You’re looking a little pale.”
“That was more overwhelming than I had expected.” She let go of him and folded her arms tightly across her chest.
He kept his arm around her shoulders to keep up the ruse for any onlookers.
As much as she liked Nate, he stirred nothing inside her.
He was attractive and built like Ethan, though not nearly as big.
Ethan was massive, yet gentle, persistent, but kind, and menacing, yet loving.
He was the best of every world and his charm drew her like no one ever had.
A few minutes later, the cab rolled up and Nate opened the door for her.
He leaned in, and pulled her into a hug. “Text me when you get home, okay?”
She nodded and pulled out of his embrace, then slid into the cab and gave the driver her address.
Nate shut the door and waved as they pulled away from the curb.
She watched as he retreated to the bar. It wouldn’t help for people to think she’d left with another man.
If this was going to work, the culprit had to assume she was at home alone.
She pinched her fingers together in her lap as the car moved through the dark streets but it did nothing to ease the compression on her chest. This was it. Tonight, the perp would come for her… he had to.
Table of Contents
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- Page 34 (Reading here)
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